Mario Party 9 is a resounding success on so many levels, adding plenty of extra variety to differentiate itself from previous entries, whilst also learning important lessons from the limited-yet-fun Wii Party. Nintendo has delivered a party title that will appeal to veterans and newcomers alike. Let’s get this party started…

Mario Party fans and board game enthusiasts alike should rejoice as Nintendo has done it again. Mario Party 9 has brought back what made Mario Party fun in its earlier days as they have combined the right amount of new mixed in with the old to make a well-rounded party title. With the variety of new mini games and a twist to the original gameplay, with all players travelling together throughout the stages, Mario Party 9 has made good on promises of a fresh and exciting change of pace to this well-known franchise.

The game manages to keep the hectic and wild spirit Mario Party is known for while eliminating superfluous gimmicks and features that slowed the pace down instead of making it equally interesting for everybody.

In the end though, it boils down the same Mario Party that you either love or hate. Fans of the series will more or less like its new formula, and haters will… well, hate. Each map will provide a nice serving of competitiveness against your friends and all within a reasonable amount of time. Anyone who’s been waiting for them to do something different might want to check this game out.

Whilst Mario Party 9 doesn’t bring too much new to the series, it’s a fine effort nonetheless. Clearly aimed at a younger audience, it succeeds in bringing people together in front of the television to enjoy some Mario fun, and how can that be a bad thing?

Nintendo may have saved this franchise by reclaiming its development. Some may object to the number of the changes made in the gameplay but, its predecessor might as well have been a bootleg. The poor quality of the graphics, the silly waggle mechanics and the useless inclusion of Miis have been replaced with a solid first party game. While skill may now have an even smaller effect on the outcome, Mario Party is about making sure everyone has fun regardless of age, gender, or blood alcohol level and that is where Mario Party 9 largely succeeds. The smaller cast is unfortunate but the overall quality upgrade nearly makes up for not being able to play as a Boo or Dry Bones.

If you lost interest some time around the umpteenth GameCube iteration, or the woeful Mario Party 8, MP9 is a good excuse to come back. Enough of the old concerns have been addressed and the game is more focused than ever, marking a return to simplicity that reminds us why we loved huddling around those old Nintendo consoles in the first place.

Excluding Wii Party, Mario Party 9 is the first we've seen in nearly five years of what was historically a perennial series. This break in the action has provided an opportunity for reinvention, and to some extent, that's what's occurred. What it all boils down to is a clever, unexpected, and much-needed reboot of a series that previously didn't seem to have much left in the way of creativity. It won't turn haters into lovers, but it's most certainly a step in the right direction for the franchise.

Mario Party 9 features less motion control, fewer board-game rules, and more of a videogame feel, but there's still plenty left to chance. Those waiting for a full-scale overhaul will have to wait a little longer. If you're like me -- that is, you've always wanted the Mario Party series to be more than just Mario in name, you'll definitely be pleased with the direction in which the series is headed.

In the end, Mario Party 9 remains what each game in the series has been: a party game. Part of me wants to berate Nintendo for making nine Mario Party games in little more than a decade, but I've got to applaud them in this case. There's no flashy new control scheme or extraneous microphone peripheral in Mario Party 9. No, in lieu of any fancy new hardware, Nintendo simply gave the old gang the keys to the company car and actually changed the rules of the game for once-and it works surprisingly well.

This Mario Party 9 is what the title says. Little new under the sun in party land, but a game that's perfect if you want to have some fun with friends one night. That you first have to go through the singleplayer campaign is a downer, but the visual appearance as well as the goofy atmosphere make up for that. If you're not fed up with mini-games yet, you can certainly add this one to your collection.

An over-reliance on random chance over strategy can quickly derail the experience when things go awry at the worst possible time, but when matches come together with the right balance, Mario Party 9 does deliver the fun this exuberant series is known for.

Kids will undoubtedly get the most out of the game and purely on the merit of quality family-friendly gaming, I can, therefore, still recommend this game to such an audience. For everyone else, Mario Party 9 can be seen as a mostly good effort, but the ability to actually derive enjoyment is highly dependent upon your taking the good with the bad. And when you consider the large number of things that can rule over your experience, it's easy to see that this revival is not as strong as it should have been.

Essentially, Mario Party 9 is a great leveller. No matter if you play games for a living or only touch a controller when one is forced into you hand, chances are you'll be in with a shot of winning come the end of the each game. The Wii has always been about bringing people together to play, and Mario Party 9 does that considerably better than I thought it would.

Is Mario Party 9 fun? Sure. In fact, its new gameplay formula is probably one of the most refreshing changes to hit the Mario Party franchise to date. Still, it hasn't addressed the main failing of Mario Party titles: the replay value. In the past, the long length and random nature Mario Party games made gamers forget them shortly after their release in favor of more strategic and skill-based party games like Rock Band. Now Mario Party moves quicker, but has even less of a strategic element. This makes the game less frustrating, but no more appealing than any other Mario Party title. After playing through each of the boards twice with a group of friends, I was ready to put this title on my shelf until the next Mario Party release.

If you have a dedicated group of friends who are ready to toss down on some Mario-themed minigames and game board shenanigans, then you're probably good to go with Mario Party 9. I don't think there's enough material here to warrant purchasing what is essentially the same game we've been playing for years. Nintendo's proven that it has the formula down to a science, and the minigame action is as fun as it's ever been, but the overall package has grown incredibly stale.

There are things about Mario Party 9 that make it a better experience than previous entries, but overall it's still a disheartening experience. The best times I experienced with the game were the times when co-workers and I were laughing at each other's stupid mistakes while playing, but you really don't need a video game to fuel stupid mistakes worth laughing at.

Overall, Mario Party 9 is not only my least favorite in the franchise; it is also the worst. I fully understand that the gameplay needs changes over the years such as the example when orbs were introduced, among other such innovations. However, with the new changes to the gameplay, it sucks out most of the competitiveness and challenge that previous entries thrived upon. I have owned every Mario Party, and currently own four through eight, but this title will not be among my collection. The series has officially flat lined. The good news is that at some point, the fall has to end, and you can only go up from there. Hopefully with the wake-up call of fan displeasure, the Wii U entries will be much more engaging and enjoyable.